Transloading device, especially bucket wheel transloading device



Jan. 17, 1967 PELZER ETAL 3,298,,1 1 7 TRANSLOADING DEVICE, ESPECIALLY BUCKET WHEEL TRANSLOADING DEVICE Filed Sept. 22, 1965 2 Sh8t$-$h8t l Inventors Jan. 17, 1967 H. PELZER ETAL 3,298,117 TRANSLOADING DEVICE, ESPECIALLY BUCKET WHEEL TRANSLOADING DEVICE Filed Sept. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors /5 a f x 5 0/2 e- United States Patent 6 Claims. (Cl. 37-490 The present invention relates to a transloading device, especially a bucket wheel transloader, which has a C- shaped upper-structure carrying a boom with a belt conveyor, and also has an under-structure which is pivotable about a vertical axis, while a further belt carrying boom or auxiliary boom is provided which is pivotable about the same axis as the upperstructure but indpendently thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a transloading device of the type set forth above, in which the unbalance normally inherent to a transloading device of the above-mentioned general type will be balanced to a great extent to thereby eliminate dead counterweight and to reduce the manufacturing costs of such device.

It is another object of this invention to provide a transloading device as set forth in the preceding paragraph, in which the adjustment as to height of that boom which is suspended on the auxiliary boom will not'be affected by pivoting said auxiliary boom.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specifica tion in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 diagrammatically illustrates a side view of a bucket wheel transloader according to hte present invention:

FIGURE 2 illustrates on a somewhat larger scale than FIGURE 1 a top view of the left-hand portion of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURES 3 and 4 illustrate in side view a portion of the bucket wheel loader according to the invention with the upper structure and the auxiliary boom respectively occupying two different positions.

The present invention is characterized primarily in that the pivot axis of the auxiliary boom is offset relative to the pivot axis of the upper structure in the direction away from the outer end of the belt-carrying boom supported by the upper structure.

Referring now specifically to the drawing, the transloading device illustrated therein comprises a lower structure 1 with a track-laying carriage 2. Lower structure 1, through the intervention of a ball turntable 4 supports a C-shaped upper-structure 3 which is pivotable about a vertical axis 5. Upper-structure 3 has the bucket wheel carrying boom 6 so journalled that the inwardly located reversing drum '7 for the conveyor belt 8 carried by boom 6 will at all adjusted levels of boom 6 be located in front of pivot axis in such a way that the material discharged from belt 8 over drum 7 will be discharged onto conveyor belt 9 of discharging boom 10 within close vicinity of the pivot axis 5.

Boom 10 is within the C-opening of the upper-structure 3 mounted on gimbals in such a way that it will be able to carry out pivot movements independently of upperstructure 3 about the vretical axis 5 and also about a transverse axis intersecting said axis 5, in order to eifect an adjustment as to height.

Discharging boom 10 is by means of two bars or the like 11 suspended on an auxiliary boom 12 which, through the intervention of a joint 13 with a transverse axis, is

pivotally supported by a supporting body 14. Supporting body 14 rests through the intervention of a ball turntable or the like 15 on the upper cantiliver 16 of the C- shaped upper-structure 3. The vertical axis of rotation 17 of turntable 15 is oifset by a distance a with regard to pivot axis 5 of upper-structure 3 in a direction away from the bucket wheel boom 6. The said distance a is in excess of the medium radius of the turntable 4. As will be seen from the drawing, auxiliary boom 12 extends beyond joint 13 toward the rear where it carries: a counterweight 18, so that the latter, together with the section of boom 12 on the other side of pivot 13, forms a balance.

The material discharged onto conveyor belt 9 is transferred from the latter through the intervention of a discharging carriage 19 onto a conveyor 20 on the storage place.

At any rate, the resultant of the weight of the auxiliary boom 12 with the counterweight 18 and of that portion of the weight of boom 10 which acts upon auxiliary boom 12, as well as of the weight of supporting body 14, is centrally located with regard to the turntable 15. This resultant thus exerts by means of lever arm a a moment upon the upper-structure 3 which, to a great extent, will in all pivotal positions of booms 6 and 10 relative to each other, balance the moment exerted by the overweight or unbalance of boom 6.

In FIG. 1, the two booms 6 and 19 occupy such positions that when seen from above they form an angle of with regard to each other. In these positions, the joints 21, by means of which the pull-rods 11 are connected to the lower girder of boom it), are offset with regard to joins 22 by means of which rods 11 are connected to the end of auxiliary boom 12, in the direction toward the pivot axes 17, 5, and, more specifically, by a distance b (FIG. 2). If now boom 10 is turned about axis 5, for instance into the position indicated in dot-dash lines in FIG. 2, boom 15 will take along auxiliary boom 12, which latter during this movement will turn about axis 17 into the position shown in dotdash lines in FIG. 2. In view of the oitset of the two axes 17, 5 with regard to each other and in view of the different pivot radius, the points at which the suspension rods 11 are connected to auxiliary boom 12 and to discharging boom 15, move toward each other when viewing FIG. 2 from the top. It will be appreciated that in such an instance joints 21 on boom 10 are almost vertically located below joints 22 on boom 12. Consequently, boom 10 would be slightly lowered if the level of the auxiliary boom 12 remained the same. This pumping is in many instances harmless to the conveying operation. However, if it is desired that the boom 10 suspended on auxiliary boom 12 maintain its respective adjustment as to height regardless of changes in its pivotal position with respect to the other boom, there may, in conformity with the present invention, be provided an arrangement which, in response to a change in the inclination of the suspension bars 11 between booms 10 and 12, acts upon a height-adjusting device for the auxiliary boom. More specifically, such adjusting arrangement is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 according to which supporting body 14 carries a winch 23. A cable 23a runs from said winch over two pulleys 24 and 25 of which pulley 24 is mounted on a cantiliver arm of supporting body 14, whereas pulley 25 is journalled on a downwardly directed arm 26 of auxiliary boom 12. Said. cable passes over said two rollers 24 and 25 in such a way that the axis of rotation of pulley 25 is located vertically below the axis of rotation of pulley 24. Cable 23a has one section 27 passing from pulley 241- to pulley 25 and has a further section 28 passing from pulley 25 back to pulley 24. Cable 23a then passes once more downwardly over pulley 25 and is connected to a fixed point 29 on arm 26.

As will be evident from the drawing, by means of winch 23, auxiliary boom 12 may be pivoted upwardly about the axis of its joint 13, for instance into the dot-dash position shown in FIG. 1. During such pivoting movement, boom 10 is carried along by means of bars 11, so that its discharging end is lifted as shown in FIG. 1 in dot-dash lines. Between the two cable strands 27, 28 which normally extend parallel to each other in vertical direction, the arm or cantilever of supporting body 14 has tiltably journalled thereon a lever 30 which is pivotable about an axis 31 parallel to the axes of pulleys 24 and 25. The upper end of lever 30 supports a pulley 32, whereas the lower end of lever 30 has connected thereto one end of a rod 33 the other end of which is connected to a joint 34 carried by suspension bars 11. Suspension bars 11 will, in conformity with the adjustment of booms 6 and 10 relative to each other have the inclination shown in FIG. 1. In this position of suspension bars 11, lever 30 is extending in vertical direction and with slight play is located between the two cable strands 27 and 28.

When boom 10 and thus auxiliary boom 12 are turned into the position shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. 2, the two suspension bars 11 occupy an approximately vertical position. Consequently, lever 30, as shown in FIG. 4, pivots in clockwise direction. During this operation, pulley 32 displaces cable strand 28 from its rectilinear extension between pulley 24 and 25. This will, when winch 23 is at a standstill, bring about that the vertical distance between the two rollers 24 and 25 decreases and consequently, auxiliary boom 12 suspended on cable 23a Will be pivoted upwardly to a slight extent. This pivotal movement Will, with a corresponding dimensioning of the individual parts involved, compensate for the lowering of the boom 10 which lowering was brought about by the turning of auxiliary boom 12 and boom 10 relative to the boom 6. Consequently, boom 10 will, in all turning positions about axis relative to boom 6, automatically retain its level once adjusted by winch 23. This is of importance above all when the bucket wheel transloader operates in such a way that the upper-structure together with the bucket wheel supporting boom continuously turns back and forth about axis 5 while boom will for a longer period of time not change its position relative to the lower structure 1, and only slightly change its position relative to the conveyor installation 20.

As will be evident from the above, the weight of the auxiliary boom including its counterweight, and that portion of the weight of the belt conveyor which is absorbed by the auxiliary boom act as counterweight to the boom supported by the upper-structure. This applies to all pivotal positions which the two booms may occupy with regard to each other. Thus, the over-weight or unbalance of the boom carried by the upper-structure 3 will be balanced without the necessity of requiring a dead counterweight. Consequently, the manufacturing costs for the device will be greatly reduced and not only because of the saving for the ballast but also in view of the fact that the upper-structure, no longer under the load of dead weight, may be designed correspondingly lighter, as a result of which also the turntable supported by the upperstructure, and the lower-structure with the carriage may be dimensioned for a smaller load.

The present invention is of particular importance for bucket wheel loaders and dredges because, in view of the great over-weight of the boom which is under the load of the bucket wheel and the driving unit pertaining thereto, a correspondingly great dead weight will be saved. Regardless of the ofisetting of the vertical pivot axes of the upper-structure and the auxiliary boom relative to each other, the transfer of material from one conveyor to the other conveyor of the two booms will, regardless of the pivotal positions of the booms, be effected in close proximity to the vertical pivot axis of the upper-structure so that, without expensive structural arrangements, the outer end of one boom will be able to maintain its once-adjusted position over the transfer carriage 19 of the conveyor installation 20 regardless of the pivotal movement of the other boom which carries, for instance, a bucket wheel.

The design of the auxiliary boom 12 in the form of a balance and the offsetting of the vertical pivot axis 17 of auxiliary boom 12 with regard to the pivot axis 5 of the upper structure 3 is favorable inasmuch as in view of the shorter design of the balance as caused thereby, the balancing operation can be effected so much more easily.

It is, of course, to be understood, that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A transloading device, especially bucket wheel loader, which includes: a lower supporting structure, an upper supporting structure supported by and movable relative to said lower structure about a first vertical axis, a first boom supported by said upper structure so as to be movable therewith about said first vertical axis, a second boom having one end portion supported by said upper structure and being movable about said first vertical axis independently of said upper structure, the other end portion of said second boom forming the outer end portion thereof, said second boom also being pivotable about a first horizontal axis, a third boom arranged at a higher level than said second boom and supported by said upper structure while being turnable about a second vertical axis offset with regard to said first vertical axis in the direction toward said outer end portion of said second boom, said third boom also being pivotable about a second horizontal axis, and suspension means suspended from said third boom and connected to said second boom so as to cause the latter to turn about said first vertical axis in response to said third boom turning about said second vertical axis.

2. A transloading device, especially bucket wheel loader, which includes: a lower supporting structure, an upper supporting structure supported by and movable relative to said lower structure about a first vertical axis, a first boom supported by said upper structure so as to be movable therewith about said first vertical axis, a second boom having one end portion supported by said upper structure and being movable about said first vertical axis independently of said upper structure, the other end portion of said second boom forming the outer end portion thereof, said second boom also being pivotable about a first horizontal axis, a supporting member arranged at a higher level than said second boom and supporting by said upper structure for rotation about a second vertical axis, a third boom pivotally supported by said supporting member for pivotal movement about a second horizontal axis while being movable together with said supporting member about said second vertical axis, said second vertical axis being oifset with regard to said first vertical axis in the direction toward said outer end portion of said second boom, and suspension means suspended from said third boom and connected to said second boom so as to cause the latter to turn about said first vertical axis in response to said third boom turning about said second vertical axis.

3. A transloading device, especially bucket wheel loader, which includes: a lower supporting structure, a turntable supported by said lower structure, an upper supporting structure mounted on said turntable and mavable relative to said lower structure about a first vertical axis, a first boom supported by said upper structure so as to be movable therewith about said first vertical axis, a second boom having one end portion supported by said upper structure and being movable about said first vertical axis independently of said upper structure, the other end portion of said second boom forming the outer end portion thereof, said second boom also being pivotable about a first horizontal axis, a third boom arranged at a higher level than said second boom and supported by said upper structure while being turnable about a second vertical axis offset with regard to said first vertical axis in the direction toward said outer end portion of said second boom by a distance exceeding the radius of said turntable said third boom also being pivotable about a second horizontal axis, and suspension means suspended from said third boom and connected to said second boom so as to cause the latter to turn about said first vertical axis in response to said third boom turning about said second vertical axis.

4. A transloading device, especially bucket wheel loader, which includes: a lower supporting structure, an upper supporting structure supported by and movable relative to said lower structure about a first vertical axis, a first boom supported by said upper structure so as to be movable therewith about said first vertical axis, a second boom having one end portion supported by said upper structure and being movable about said first vertical axis independently of said upper structure, the other end portion of said second boom forming the outer end portion thereof, said second boom also being pivotable about a first horizontal axis, a supporting member arranged at a higher level than said second boom and supported by said upper structure for rotation about a second vertical axis, a third boom pivotally supported by said supporting member for pivotal movement about a second horizontal axis while being movable together with said supporting member about said second vertical axis, said second vertical axis being offset with regard to said first vertical axis in the direction toward said outer end portion of said second boom, suspension means suspended from said third boom and connected to said second boom so as to cause the latter to turn about said first vertical axis in response to said third boom turning about said second vertical axis, and compensating means operatively interconnecting said support ing member and said third boom and operable automatically to lift and lower said third boom about said second horizontal axis in response to and in conformity with change in the angle formed by said suspension means with the longitudinal axis of said second boom to thereby substantially maintain the level of said outer end portion of said second boom.

5. A transloading device according to claim 4, in which said compensating means comprises roller means respectively supported by said supporting member and said third boom and also comprises cable means passing around said roller means, and lever means operatively connected to said suspension means and operable in response to an increase and decrease respectively of the angle formed by said suspension means and the longitudinal axis of said second boom to act upon the cable means between said roller means for varying the total cable length between said roller means so as to lengthen or shorten said total cable length between said roller means to thereby lift and lower said third boom with regard to said second boom.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5, in which the strands of the cable means between said roller means on both sides thereof are normally rectilinear, and in which said lever means includes a lever between the strands on both sides of said roller means operable in response to an increase in the angle of said suspension means with the longitudinal axis of said second boom to increase the distance between said strands to thereby shorten the distance between said roller means and lift said third boom and consequently also said second boom.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,003,611 10/1961 Pelzer 19888 HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner. 

1. A TRANSLOADING DEVICE, ESPECIALLY BUCKET WHEEL LOADER, WHICH INCLUDES: A LOWER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, AN UPPER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE SUPPORTED BY AND MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID LOWER STRUCTURE ABOUT A FIRST VERTICAL AXIS, A FIRST BOOM SUPPORTED BY SAID UPPER STRUCTURE SO AS TO BE MOVABLE THEREWITH ABOUT SAID FIRST VERTICAL AXIS, A SECOND BOOM HAVING ONE END PORTION SUPPORTED BY SAID UPPER STRUCTURE AND BEING MOVABLE ABOUT SAID FIRST VERTICAL AXIS INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID UPPER STRUCTURE, THE OTHER END PORTION OF SAID SECOND BOOM FORMING THE OUTER END PORTION THEREOF, SAID SECOND BOOM ALSO BEING PIVOTABLE ABOUT A FIRST HORIZONTAL AXIS, A THIRD BOOM ARRANGED AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN SAID SECOND BOOM AND SUPPORTED BY SAID UPPER STRUCTURE WHILE BEING TURNABLE ABOUT A SECOND VERTICAL AXIS OFFSET WITH REGARD TO SAID FIRST VERTICAL AXIS IN THE DIRECTION TOWARD SAID OUTER END PORTION OF SAID SECOND BOOM, SAID THIRD BOOM ALSO BEING PIVOTABLE ABOUT A SECOND HORIZONTAL AXIS, AND SUSPENSION MEANS SUSPENDED FROM SAID THIRD BOOM AND CONNECTED TO SAID SECOND BOOM SO AS TO CAUSE THE LATTER TO TURN ABOUT SAID FIRST VERTICAL AXIS IN RESPONSE TO SAID THIRD BOOM TURNING ABOUT SAID SECOND VERTICAL AXIS. 